Creme Brulee paired with some French Fizz #FoodnFlix #FrenchWinophiles

What is the holiday season without a little bubbly??  Lifeless and flat.....and we don't want that now, do we?

You don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on Dom Perignon to enjoy a little French Fizz during your celebrations.  France has tons of wonderful, sparkling wines that are delightful and reasonably priced. 

That is what we are celebrating today at The French Winophiles.  Jason and Jill of L'Occasion invited us to finish off  2016 with "Bubbles from France".  Go take a look at their preview post and you will see that the possibilities are endless.

I normally serve sparkling wines with appetizers or first courses when entertaining but for this month's post I decided to change things up and serve this bottle of Sparkling Demi-Sec from D'Orfeuilles.  This winery is located in the Loire Valley and specializes in Chenin Blancs and Sparkling Wines.  They are certified organic, certified biodynamic and sustainable.  

I chose the Demi-Sec instead of the Brut that I would normally drink because I wanted a slightly sweeter wine to pair with the Creme Brulee that I was serving up in homage to our FoodnFlix selection this month.  This was an ideal pairing.  The Vouvray Demi-Sec was lightly sweet and the fizz played off the smooth creamy sweetness of the Creme Brulee.

Now let's travel from the Loire Valley over to Austria and the areas surrounding it and learn a little about Krampus who is a half goat/half demon folklore figure that punishes those children who don't believe in the magic of Christmas.  It makes me shiver just typing those words....Leave it to the area that produced the Grimm brothers to have this type of folklore figure during the Christmas season.

I had never heard of Krampus until Heather of All Roads Lead to the Kitchen chose it as our movie for this month's FoodnFlix Club.  My son was home on leave from the Navy when I ordered up this movie to watch.  He looked at me incredulously and said "you are watching Krampus?"  I, being oblivious, replied "of course, it is the Christmas movie for this month".  The movie opens to a hugely dysfunctional family having Christmas dinner and treating each other deplorably.  As the mom goes into the kitchen to get the grand finale, Creme Brulee, one of the cousins grabs a letter that was written to Santa by the young boy in the family, and proceeds to read it in front of the whole family,   This lovely family then proceeds to ridicule and tease the young boy until he runs from the table, humiliated as his mother walks out proudly carrying her Creme Brulee.

That was the start of a movie that got progressively worse.  I do not like horror films, not even horror films that are supposed to be funny.  I don't like them during Halloween when horror movies should be watched and I really, really do not like them at Christmas.  

I do, however, like Creme Brulee, so I was inspired to make some for a dinner party I was hosting. Luckily, at my dinner, everyone was kind towards each other and we made Merry as we all should during this special time of the year.  

This Creme Brulee is from a recipe by Ina Garten.  It is easy and can be made ahead of time.  Bring it out of the refrigerator at the beginning of your dinner and when it is time for dessert it is ready to be sprinkled with sugar and bruleed for serving. Your guests will be impressed by this rich, creamy but light dessert.  

I didn't save any for Krampus but there is a serving awaiting St. Nick when he comes to visit~~

Thank you Heather for hosting this month.  I am looking forward to seeing what the others were inspired to make after watching this film when you post the roundup at the end of the month.

Creme Brulee

slightly adapted from Ina Garten

1 egg

4 egg yolks

1/2 c. sugar plus more for sprinkling

3 c. heavy cream

1 t. vanilla paste

1 T. orange liqueur

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg, egg yolks and 1/2 c. sugar until just combined. Place the cream into a small saucepan over med high heat and cook until steaming but not boiling. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the cream to the egg mixture. Stir in the vanilla and liqueur.

Place 6 empty ramekins into a flat bottomed roaster and add boiling water to the roaster to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins.  Remove the ramekins and make sure they are completely dry inside.  Place the roaster in a preheated 300* oven.  Divide the custard between the 6 ramekins, pull the rack of the oven containing the roaster out and carefully place the ramekins in the boiling water.  Push in the rack and bake for 35-40 minutes until the custards are set.  Remove the custards from the water bath and cool to room temperature.  Refrigerate until firm.

When ready to serve, sprinkle each ramekin with approx, 1 T. of sugar and heat with a kitchen torch until evenly caramelized.  Allow to sit for a minute until the caramel hardens before serving.  Print Recipe

This is the last French Winophiles session of the year. Please join us today at 11 EST to enjoy an hour discussing and learning about sparkling wines from France. Don't forget to stop by and see what the other Winophiles are sharing today.

• Gwendolyn of Wine Predator: French Fizz #Winophiles: In the Pink with Fresh Seafood Crepes, Bisque 
• Martin of Enofylz Wine Blog: Patrick Bottex “La Cueille” Bugey Cerdon Rosé #Winophiles 
• LM from binNotes: Celebrating Grower Champagne 
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Crisps, Caviar, and Crémant de Limoux 
• Jeff from FoodWineClick!: Master the Saber with French Fizz 
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm: Creme Brulee paired with some French Fizz 
• Michelle from Rockin Red Blog: How About Some French Fizz this Holiday Season
•  Jill at L’occasion: Fascinating: Crémant d’Alsace

Baked Crab Dip #FishFridayFoodies

My friend, Sue of A Palatable Pastime, volunteered to host us this month and chose a theme of "Fish in a Dish".  Sue requested that we all offer up a recipe that goes into a dish and then into the oven to help warm us on these cold winter days.

My first thought was my Seafood Lasagna but I had already shared that with you long before I ever thought of starting FFF.  So I started planning my Christmas entertaining and the dishes I would serve, knowing that somewhere in those many parties, get togethers and potlucks, a baked fish or seafood dish would be the perfect addition.

When planning our Santa Party last weekend I decided that I wasn't going to cook but rather order up pizzas and salads to be delivered after Santa's visit.  I wanted to have lots of snacks and appetizers to hold people over as we waited for Santa to arrive and while the kids were busy telling him what was on their wish list this year.

I decided to make one of those appetizers a baked crab dip and I am so glad that I did.  It was rich, creamy and a delightful addition to the table.  And it gave me an excuse to use this adorable Rudolph baking dish.

Baked Crab Dip

1 (6 oz) can premium lump crab meat
1/2 c. Miracle Whip
4 oz. cream cheese
juice from 1/4 of a lemon
4-5 chives
handful of flat leaf Parsley
Dash of hot sauce
Italian Bread Crumbs
French Baguette, cut into slices

Place crab, Miracle Whip, cream cheese, lemon juice, chives, parsley and hot sauce into the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse 4-5 times until well combined.   Spoon into an oven safe serving dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs.  Place in a preheated hot oven, 425*, for 15 minutes or until the top is browned and the mixture is hot and bubbly around the edges.  Serve with slices of a good, crusty baguette.   Print Recipe

More Fish in a Dish 

An InLinkz Link-up

Hot Buttered Rum #ImprovCookingChallenge

Welcome to this month's edition of the Improv Cooking Challenge where we are each given the challenge of creating a dish featuring the same two ingredients.  This month, hosted by Nicole of Cookaholic Wife, we were given honey and cinnamon to work with as our challenge.

I don't know what the weather is like where you live but I live in Michigan and we had a nice snowstorm come through on Sunday.  We have a beautiful covering of snow that isn't going anywhere soon because the temps are below freezing.  

This makes it a perfect time to light a fire and cozy up with a good book and a warm drink.  The drink I chose to share is a Hot Buttered Rum.....Can you say YUMYUM!!  I'm a poet and didn't know it LOL.

I found this recipe on the Absolut Vodka Website and handed my phone to Frank who is the master bartender in this family.  Then I sat patiently and waited for it to be served.  It was incredible....I am having a dinner party on Friday and I think this is going to be the featured drink.  I will make up a whole batch in the slow cooker so it stays warm and delicious to warm my guests inside and out when they arrive.

Merry Christmas everyone.  Don't forget to check out what the others created using Honey and Cinnamon.  

Hot Buttered Rum

source: Absolutdrinks.com

2 parts Dark Rum

4 parts boiling water

1 part honey

1 t. butter, per drink

nutmeg

lemon

cinnamon sticks

Combine rum, water, honey and butter in a cocktail shaker, large glass, pitcher or slow cooker depending on amount of servings being made.  Pour into wine glasses, sprinkle with nutmeg and garnish with a lemon slice and cinnamon stick.  Print Recipe

Let's see what the others created

An InLinkz Link-up

Christmas Wreath Cake #BundtBakers

This month's Bundt theme is Winter Wonderland, hosted by Laura of Baking in Pyjamas.  I was very excited about this perfect choice for a theme.  When Laura announced it my mind immediately went to snow and ice and things that "feel cold".  To me, that is peppermint, most specifically those chocolate covered peppermint patties.  I don't know why they remind me of winter and cold weather but they do.  I knew I was going to make a peppermint patty bundt so I threw the idea on the back burner and got caught up in the busyness of the Christmas season.

Before I knew it, the deadline for #BundtBakers was fast approaching and I had done nothing more than come up with an idea.  I had planned on making the Bundt to be served at our Santa party and here it was the day before and I hadn't  gotten any further in preparation than that first inkling of an idea.  We had hosted a dinner party on Friday and were finishing clean up on Saturday morning when I remembered that I still needed to make my cake.  We had an afternoon wedding and an evening Christmas gathering to attend.  This gave me about 2 hours to come up with and implement an idea.

I had made a Fudgy Peppermint Bundt in the past which was already posted so I decided to forget that idea and started thinking of other "Christmasy" bundts I could make.  I thought about a Gingerbread Bundt but then realized I had done that last year.  Google take me away.....

When searching Christmas Bundt Cakes on Google the very first recipe to pop up is from Betty Crocker for a Rainbow Christmas Wreath.  Perfect....quick, easy, adorable and the kids would love it. Gotta love Google and Betty Crocker!

It doesn't get much easier than opening a box mix, stirring it together, dividing the dough to add food coloring and baking.

Unless it is dividing up pre-made frosting, dividing it, adding food color and drizzling it over the cake.

I, personally, would have preferred a home made peppermint creation but the kids?  They loved this cake and it presented very well on the dessert buffet.

Merry Christmas everybody.  May your days be Merry, Bright and Beautifully Delicious.  Need help with that?  Take a look at all the Wonderful Winter Wonderland delights following the recipe below.

Christmas Wreath Cake

source: Betty Crocker

1 white cake mix

ingredients called for on the box

red and green food coloring

1 (12 oz) container whipped white frosting

Red Colored Sugar

Prepare cake mix as instructed on back of box.  Divide half the batter between two small bowls.  Tint one of the small bowls of batter with green food coloring and the other with red food coloring.  Pour half of the remaining, untinted, batter into the bottom of a bundt pan that has been liberally coated with baking spray.  Carefully pour the red batter over the plain in the pan, followed by the green batter and finally topped with the remaining white batter.  Carefully, so as to not mix the colors, place the bundt into the oven and bake per the directions on the back of the box.  Remove to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan and allowing to cool completely.

Divide the container of frosting into 2 small microwave safe bowls.  Microwave one bowl for 5-10 seconds, stir and drizzle over the cooled cake that has been placed on a serving dish.  Microwave the second bowl for 5-10 seconds, tint with the green food coloring and drizzle over the cake.  Sprinkle with red colored sugar.  Print Recipe

More Winter Wonderland Creations

• Amaretto Winter Bundt Cake from Making Miracles
• Candied Fruit Bundt Cake from I Love Bundt Cakes
• Chile Hot Chocolate Mocha Bundt Cake from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Coconut Snowball Mini Bundts from Food Lust People Love
• Cranberry Eggnog Bundt Cake from Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Cream and Rum Bundt Cake from La Mejor Manera de Hacer
• Holiday Gingerbread Bundt from Living the Gourmet
• Orange Blossom Bundt Cake from Bizcocheando
• Orange Cranberry Bundt Cake from Tartacadabra
• Peppermint Pine Forest Bundt Cake from Baking in Pyjamas
• Rainbow Christmas Wreath from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Spicy Gingerbread Bundt with Caramelized White Chocolate Ganache from Brooklyn Homemaker
• Tropical Winter Wonderland Bundt Cake from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice

Cinnamon Cranberry Cup of Comfort for the Cape Cod Select Holiday Blogger Challenge.

I was approached by Cape Cod Select and asked if I would be interested in entering their Holiday Blogging Challenge.  Categories for this challenge are beverage, entrees and baking.  Bloggers are allowed to participate in all 3 categories if they wish.  One winner is chosen from each category and will receive a prize of $500 and there will be one overall winning recipe for a grand prize of $1000.

I was sent two bags of fresh frozen cranberries for use in this challenge.  I have not/nor will I receive any monetary compensation unless I am deemed a winner of this challenge in one of the aforementioned categories.  To participate in this challenge I have agreed to refer to the cranberries by name brand in the recipe, include a picture of the cranberries that I received to use in this challenge and include links to the company's social media as well as a download to stores where my readers will be able to find Cape Cod Select Cranberries.

I decided to enter into two of the categories offered.  I entered the baked challenge with this Caramelized Cranberry Cake.  Now I would like to share an entry for the drinks category.  I created this drink on a snowy and cold December evening.  We had been out running errands all day and it was chilly willy with high winds.  I wanted something that would warm my bones and comfort my soul.  I found it!!

I started out by making a juice from the Cape Cod Select Frozen Cranberries.  I cooked them up with some orange and lemon juice, sugar, honey and cloves until the cranberries popped and released all of their tart goodness.

I strained out all the solids and was left with 2 cups of this beautiful hot juice.  I divided the juice between two cups and added some hot cinnamon schnapps to the mix.  Garnished with an orange slice and a cinnamon stick.  Sat down on the couch, curled my feet up under me and sipped myself right into relaxation.

This will be the perfect cocktail to serve after a day of cross country skiing or sledding.  It will soothe the soul on those cold wintery nights when you are feeling bleak and missing your loved ones.  It will warm your cockles when you are feeling under the weather. It will warm your next gathering with dear friends.  I think I have discovered the perfect Winter Cup of Comfort.

You can find Cape Cod Select Cranberries at nearly 5000 stores nationwide.  Check their store locator to find them near you.  Cape Cod Select is also on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

All opinions are 100% my own and are not affected by the product received or contest entered.

Cinnamon Cranberry Cup of Comfort

created by A Day in the Life on the Farm

2 c. Cape Cod Premium Select Frozen Cranberries

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. honey

Juice from 2 oranges

Juice from 1/4 lemon

6 whole cloves

1 c. water

4 oz. Hot Cinnamon Schnapps, divided

orange slices for garnish

cinnamon sticks for garnish

Place cranberries, sugar, honey orange juice, lemon juice, water and cloves into a medium saucepan set over med high heat.  Bring to a boil and let cook until sugar is dissolved and cranberries have popped open and are very soft.  Strain into a measuring cup through a fine mesh strainer.  Discard solids.  You should have 2 cups of juice.  Divide the juice between 2 mugs and add 2 shots of Schnapps to each drink.  Stir and garnish with an orange slice and cinnamon stick.  Print Recipe

Caramelized Cranberry Cake for the Cape Cod Select Holiday Blogging Challenge

I was approached by Cape Cod Select and asked if I would be interested in entering their Holiday Blogging Challenge.  Categories for this challenge are beverage, entrees and baking.  Bloggers are allowed to participate in all 3 categories if they wish.  One winner is chosen from each category and will receive a prize of $500 and there will be one overall winning recipe for a grand prize of $1000.

I was sent two bags of fresh frozen cranberries for use in this challenge.  I have not/nor will I receive any monetary compensation unless I am deemed a winner of this challenge in one of the aforementioned categories.  To participate in this challenge I have agreed to refer to the cranberries by name brand in the recipe, include a picture of the cranberries that I received to use in this challenge and include links to the companies social media as well as a download to stores where my readers will be able to find Cape Cod Select Cranberries.

That being disclosed, I want to assure my readers that all opinions in this post are completely mine and completely accurate.  Cape Cod Select Cranberries were used in the implementation of this recipe so as to allow me to take part in this challenge.

I was excited to enter this challenge.  I love baking and cooking with cranberries. In fact, I participated in a Cranberry Week challenge last month where a group of us shared cranberry recipes for a whole week!

I love cakes but I am not a huge frosting fan so when I am able to make a cake sans frosting I jump at the chance.

This cake is made in the style of an upside down cake.  I first caramelized the fruit in a cast iron skillet, added the batter and allowed it to bake creating a syrupy sweet topping that was offset by the tart bite of the cranberries. 

I hope you enjoy my recipe.  You can find Cape Cod Select Cranberries at nearly 5000 stores nationwide.  Check their store locator to find them near you.  Cape Cod Select is also on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

Caramelized Cranberry Cake

created by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Prep time: 10 minutes

Bake time: 50 minutes

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. butter, divided

1 t. cinnamon

2 c.  Cape Cod Select Premium Frozen Cranberries, thawed

3/4 c. granulated sugar

2 eggs

3/4 c. milk

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. sour cream

2 c. all purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

In a 12" cast iron skillet, over med high heat, melt 1/4 c. of the butter.  Add the brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook and stir until melted and bubbly.  Remove from heat and add the cranberries, stirring to coat and covering the bottom of the pan.

In the large bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the remaining 1/4 c. of butter with the granulated sugar.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.  Stir in the milk, vanilla and sour cream.  With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour and baking powder until moistened. Increase the speed and mix until just blended.  

Carefully pour the batter into the skillet in a circular fashion covering the cranberries evenly.  Place in a preheated 375* oven for 40-50 minutes, until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center removes cleanly.  Remove from oven and cool in pan on baking rack for 10 minutes.  Run a knife around the edges of the cake and flip onto a serving platter.  Print Recipe

Ginger Honey Shrimp ala Karma and the Art of Butter Chicken; A Book Review

The folks over at the Book Club Cookbook introduced some of us to author Monica Bhide who kindly offered us a free download of her cookbook, Karma and the art of Butter Chicken, based on her novel of the same name.

I downloaded the cookbook and ordered the novel onto my kindle from Amazon.  Today I am sharing my thoughts on both and while I appreciate the free download of the cookbook I will only offer my complete, honest opinion in regards to both books and the recipe I made.  The novel, which I purchased, is shareable so if you are one of my kindle friends and would like to borrow this book just let me know.  First come, first served.

The novel takes place in Delhi, India where the rich are very rich and the poor are everywhere.  The story centers around a young man, Eshaan, who was rescued and raised by Buddhist monks after helplessly watching his mother starve to death.  Eshaan, is unable to overcome the guilt and accept the fact that he was too young to have saved his mother from this terrible fate.  He has decided to make it his life mission to feed the hungry.  But more than that he wants to give the hungry hope and a sense of purpose.  Eshaan, with the help of many others that we get to know and care about in this novel, opens the Karma Kitchen.

I love learning of other cultures and this book was a true eye opener for me, who has had very limited contact with Indians or Buddhists.  I don't think I have ever, personally,  met anyone of the Buddhist faith.  I have met several Indians through blogging but personally have only had contact with Indians in a professional setting where their culture has not been discussed.  I know from other books and movies that there is a huge disparity in India between the haves and have nots but being from the USA cannot really fathom people actually starving to death.  Not only did I find the historical aspect of the book interesting, I loved the story and the characters that I got to meet while reading this novel. There is going to be a sequel and I, for sure, will be reading it to find out what happens in the lives of these people that I now consider friends.  I would highly recommend this book and it is only $4.99 to download it to your kindle.

I am definitely going to make the Butter Chicken found in the cookbook but it was not the first recipe that I decided to make.  I was having a dinner party and the first section of Monica's cookbook is dedicated to appetizers.  Perfect!!   I decided to serve the Ginger Honey Shrimp with cocktails before dinner.  I did make some adjustments.  I bought some fresh ginger just for this dish but I'll be danged if I could find it when I went to prepare this dish.  The ginger elf must have stolen it or something.  I normally have ginger paste from Gourmet Garden, but, of course, since I had company coming and needed to have it, I didn't.  What I did have was some Gourmet Garden Thai seasoning paste that contains ginger, chili pepper, cilantro and lemongrass.  I knew this would work as the recipe also called for chili flakes.  There is lemon in the recipe so I knew the lemongrass would fit in and the cilantro added a bit of freshness to the dish.  The other change I made was to cook my shrimp on a griddle instead of my grill pan which I still haven't located since the move.

We were having 6 for dinner so I made 3 large shrimp per person for a total of 18 shrimp.  The marinade is enough for a pound of shrimp.  I let the shrimp marinade for a few hours, putting them on the grill right before guests were due to arrive.  These shrimp were wonderful!  The perfect blend of sweet and hot that needed no sauce to accompany it.

Thank you, Monica, for authoring not only a great novel but the cookbook from which I got this recipe.  I am looking forward to trying the other recipes, especially the butter chicken.

This will also be my final #FoodiesRead for 2016.  I have had a lot of fun with this challenge.  My goal was to read 9-13 food related books. I read 2 in January, 2 in February, 2 in March, 1 in April, 2 in May, 1 in June, a whopping 5 in July, but not a one in August, back to 4 in September, 1 in October, 1 in November and this entry for December for a total of 22, far exceeding my goal!!  I have read and reviewed a total of 44 books this year.  Check them out on my 2016 Reading List.

Ginger Honey Shrimp
adapted from Karma and the Art of Butter Chicken Cookbook

1 T. honey
1 1/2 t. thai seasons paste
juice of 1/4 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. large shrimp, cleaned, deveined and peeled with tails intact
1 T. olive oil

Whisk together the honey, thai paste, lemon juice and garlic in a large bowl.  Add the shrimp, toss to coat, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.  Set a grill pan or griddle over high heat.  Remove the shrimp from the marinade and cook for 1-2 minutes per side, until pink and cooked through.  Be careful not to overcook the shrimp or it will be tough.